Evening Star

For casual sky watchers, today is noteworthy since Venus now sets after sunset and so becomes an evening star. It will be in this favourable viewing position until October. Because Venus is the 3rd-brightest celestial object in the sky (the Moon and the Sun are brighter), it is very noticable no matter where you live, even in brightly lit urban centres.

Venus was actually in superior conjunction this past Monday (January 11), when it was opposite the Sun as seen from the Earth. Since it passed slightly south of the Sun, it continued to set before the Sun at the latitude of OttawaNepean for a few more days (see diagram). By the end of January it will have moved far enough eastward to be apparent to anyone looking to the southwest in the early evening. A good time to see Venus for the rest of the winter will be while you're commuting westward after work.

Since the ecliptic is tilted steeply upward in the west during early winter evening, Venus will climb in altitude above the horizon very quickly as the days go by. This increases its visibility so that it is very easy to for everyone to appreciate without going to any special effort. Enjoy the view.